Traditional electronics interactive games categories are divided into arcade games, computer games, TV games and handheld games. Arcade games, computer games and TV games are provided with powerful computing devices and big screens. Portable games are mostly supported with a small LCD screen. All these electronics game platforms are suitable for providing competition games; combat games; strategic games and quiz games. Quiz games requires audio or visual transducer to provide questions and a feedback device to receive answer. Competition games require a user to compete with another user or compete with a virtual competitor provided by the game machine. Typical example of the competition games is a car racing game. Combating game is defined as the electronics games, which requires combating between two game objects such as combat vehicles or action figures. These figures are usually illustrated on the screen. One of the combating objects may be assigned to represent the user. Strategic games are defined as games that require a certain good level of strategy to win the game play. Control of the strategy is provided by proper key entries at appropriate time, proper selection of gaming subjects, such as racing vehicles or combating figures under different gaming environments. The different types of gaming environments and gaming levels that require different gaming strategies are collectively defined as the different game modes to challenge the user.
A significant advantage of arcade games, computer games and TV games is that the powerful processors behind the big screens are able to provide high resolution graphic images. The advantage of handheld game is portability that compromises with a small screen and lower resolution graphic. Portability is an important marketing factor. As compared with stationary units, special electronics and mechanical structures are required to make a product portable. Different issues such as power supply, weight and sizes are to be encountered when designing a portable game unit. It is the objective of this invention to introduce a portable electronics interactive game or play set that enables the user to play with realistic three dimensional toys, such as miniature racing cars and combating figures. It is also the objective of the subject invention to provide an interactive electronics games that challenge good strategy from the user.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/242,847, a parent patent application of the subject invention disclosed a portable racing game that comprises a master member having a LCD screen and a game controller; and a family of accessory toys. In a preferred embodiment each accessory toy is configured in the shape of different racing vehicles. The user is required to select the most appropriate accessory toy to race under different environments, or gaming modes. Each of the accessory toys is provided an electronics identity circuit, typically represented by an IC or simply a resistor of specific value. When the accessory toy is connected to the receiver of the master toy unit, the microcontroller positioned inside the master toy unit reads the IC or the value of the resistor to determine which accessory toy has been connected for the racing game. The microcontroller provides different responses during the game play according to different types of accessory toy detected. Reprogrammable memory provided to the system allows the characteristics of the accessory toy to be upgraded or downgraded. Another enhanced play value to this configuration is that the accessory toy can be traded among different players, or users.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/208,346 filed Jul. 30, 2002, Ser. No. 10/241,340 filed Sep. 10, 2002 and Ser. No. 10/638,706 filed Aug. 8, 2003 discloses circuits that identify a toy object or an accessory toy member according to the resistance of a resistor attached to this toy object. They also disclosed applications for a single master toy unit to receive multiple accessory toy members, and the technical solution for multiple accessory toy members to be interfaced with the master toy unit at the same time. These parent patent applications also disclosed an encoded pictorial game card to define different game modes. Each game mode directs the microcontroller inside the master unit to initiate a different gaming environment, or adopting a set of different game rules to interact with the accessory toy members selected.